Autonomous mobile platform and variable rate irrigation method for preventing frost damage

ABSTRACT

A rover includes a base having wheels and a propulsion system coupled to the wheels to propel the rover around a field. A tower is coupled to the base and extends over the base. Sensors are set on the tower and the base and are configured to sense environmental conditions around the rover at different elevations. A computing system includes a processor and memory. The memory is configured to receive measured data from the sensors and determine an amount and manner of water to be dispensed on plant life in the field.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to mobile platforms for agriculture, andmore particularly to systems and methods for detecting onset of frostdamage and ways to prevent it by minimizing inputs to save plant life.

Description of the Related Art

Damage to crops by freezing temperatures can cause large amounts of croplosses every year. A number of different methods are available forpreventing frost damage to crops. The methods are described in terms ofactive and passive techniques. Active methods are those which are usedwhen the danger of a freeze is present and include such techniques asadding heat and covering crops. Passive methods are those which are usedwell in advance of the freeze and include proper scheduling of plantingand harvesting within a safe freeze-free period, proper crop and fieldselection, etc. The terms frost and freeze are often usedinterchangeably for the subfreezing temperature conditions that causecrop damage. In general, any prevention method may use a uniformapproach where the whole farm or crop planted in a certain area istreated in the same way.

SUMMARY

A rover includes a base having wheels and a propulsion system coupled tothe wheels to propel the rover around a field. A tower is coupled to thebase and extends over the base. Sensors are set on the tower and thebase and are configured to sense environmental conditions around therover at different elevations. A computing system includes a processorand memory. The memory is configured to receive measured data from thesensors and determine an amount and manner of water to be dispensed onplant life in the field.

A rover system includes a self-propelled rover including a tower coupledto a base and extending over the base and a plurality of sensors set onthe tower and the base and configured to sense environmental conditionsaround the rover at different elevations. A computing system includes aprocessor and memory. The memory is configured to receive measured datafrom the plurality of sensors and determine an amount and manner ofwater to be dispensed on plant life in the field. A sprinkler systemincludes a plurality of individually controllable heads. The heads areresponsive to measured data from the plurality of sensors to apply waterto the plant life in accordance with local conditions.

A method for dispensing water for crops includes traversing a field witha self-propelled rover, the rover including a tower coupled to a baseand extending over the base and a plurality of sensors set on the towerand the base, the tower and base configured to sense environmentalconditions around the rover at different elevations and at differentlocations in the field; measuring the environmental conditions using theplurality of sensors on the rover at the different elevations and at thedifferent locations in the field; evaluating local measurement data todetermine an amount and manner for disbursement of water under theenvironmental conditions for the different elevations and at thedifferent locations in the field; and delivering the water until goalconditions are met.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will provide details in the following description ofpreferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a rover system in accordance withthe present principles;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a sprinkler system with speakersfor an individually activating sprinkler heads acoustically orelectrically in accordance with the present principles; and

FIG. 3 is a block/flow diagram showing methods for dispensing water forcrops in accordance with illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the present principles, systems and methods areprovided to prevent frost damage to crops or other plants in an outdoorenvironment. The present principles are especially applicable tovineyards, berry farms, citrus farms and other commercial crops.Vineyards will be employed herein as an example. In one embodiment, asystem dispenses water uniformly in accordance with conditions measuredusing environmental variables from a weather station and, in particular,related to air inversion phenomena, which can result in very lowtemperatures in vineyards in early spring. These conditions may bemeasured regionally and assume that data will be very similar across thewhole region, e.g., over multiple farms, or derived bymonitoring/forecasting weather; however, crop freeze may be dependent onvery local conditions.

The systems and methods address frost potential in different ways. Forexample, the land can be irrigated a day ahead of a frost to trap heatin the soil that would be released during the frost period. Since localconditions may be estimated based on existing data, to account forinaccuracy of the data, over watering may be preferred to preventdamage. A local micro sprinkler system may be employed to disperse wateron grapes, and a continuous water stream will prevent frost damage byproviding continuous water to leaves/buds and maintaining thetemperature of ice at about 27° F. The micro sprinkler system mayinclude nozzles that act to provide water dispersion above the grapes toform snow to cover the grapes.

In one embodiment, a mobile sensing platform is employed that movesthrough a vineyard and measures the local temperature changes atdifferent heights. An onboard processor can compute temperature profilesand estimate the likelihood for air inversion. The rate of cooling ofthe temperature is recorded in different locations that may indicate thespeed by which the inversion may occur.

The platform can send a command to a central computer that can controland adjust the amount of water dispersed by a micro sprinkler system.Sprinkler heads of the micro sprinkler system can be addressedindividually or in a group, and can be controlled to overcome the localadverse conditions in the weather. The platform may be equipped withcameras to obtain a visualization to generate a feed-back loop foroptimization of the process. The system may include data acquisition andtransmission of the data and a controlled variable rate sprinkler systemto enable water spraying to prevent frost damage in a vineyard ororchard setting.

The sprinkler system may be employed to disperse water when thetemperature is below the freezing point. When water freezes on theleaves of plants, heat is also released to the atmosphere. The sprinklersystem provides water to be dispersed on ice to create a protective icecoating and maintain the temperature at a water-ice equilibrium point.The present sprinkler system can dispense water differentially based onthe measurement of a rover and accounts for spatial variability insteadof being based on a single weather data station measurement that forcesuniform water dispensing.

The use of sprinklers can protect vines when temperatures fall to, e.g.,−3.9° C. (25° F.), under certain conditions. Water from the sprinklerssupplies heat to the vine-water-atmosphere system, and the heat isreleased as water cools to 0° C. (32° F.) and then freezes to ice. Onefactor to be considered in this situation is the heat of fusion(released as water freezes to ice). A gallon of water releases 300 kcal(1200 BTU) of heat as it freezes. Water also evaporates in thevine-water-atmosphere system. The evaporation of water causes a loss of2300 kcal (9000 BTU) per gallon. Therefore, to maintain a positive heatbalance, more water needs to freeze than to evaporate. This amount hasbeen determined to be a factor of 7.5 units of water or more for everyunit of water that evaporates. This, along with a buffer for thehumidity of the air and wind speed (factors which can increase theevaporation rate) is a basis for the sprinkler application rateemployed. An application rate may be between about 6.9 to about 8.2hectare-millimeters (0.11 to 0.13 acre-inches) per hour or a pumpingcapacity of 470 liters per minute per hectare (50 gallons per minute peracre). Furthermore, use of snow generated by a distinct actuation of thesprinkler system may be more employed in certain air temperaturestratification conditions.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It will also be understood that when an element such as a layer, regionor substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” another element, itcan be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” or “directly over” another element, there are no interveningelements present. It will also be understood that when an element isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthe present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means thata particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations,appearing in various places throughout the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”,“and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “Aand/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A andB). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at leastone of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listedoption (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listedoptions (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listedoptions (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listedoptions (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinaryskill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the sameor similar elements and initially to FIG. 1, a rover system 10 isdepicted in accordance with one illustrative embodiment. The roversystem 10 includes a rover 12. The rover 12 may include a vehicleconfigured to traverse a field to measure the local environmentalconditions. The rover 12 may be equipped to transmit a command to acentral computer 16 and also has the ability to dispense water toprevent frost damage or irrigate plants.

In one embodiment, the rover 12 includes a base 50 having wheels 42. Thewheels 42 are configured for the terrain of a vineyard or other field.The rover 12 may include two wheels (with gyroscopic stabilization),three wheels, four wheels, etc. A propulsion system 52 is coupled to thewheels 42 to propel the rover around a field 28. The propulsion system52 may include a battery driven engine, an internal combustion engine, asolar powered engine, a wind powered engine or any other powersource/engine. The rover 12 may be equipped with a localization systemor navigation system 54, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), or canbe equipped with a kinematic GPS connected either to a satellite or to alocal receiver/transmission point that can be localized within, e.g., 1foot distance. The navigation system 54 may be loaded on an onboardcomputer system 18 or may be a separate device or devices.

The navigation system 54 permits a sensing system to be realized, e.g.,in a cognitive computing platform 40, to know a position in a field atwhich measurements and water dispensing occurs. The navigation system 54may include at least one of: a GPS sensing system, a dead reckoningsystem using encoders in the wheels 42 to track position from a knownstarting point and a radio direction sensing system that permitsnavigation relative to one or more fixed transmitters (e.g., in acentral computer 16 or located at fixed positions in the field).

The cognitive platform 40 includes a program by which the user candirect the rover 12 to follow a desired route and time interval oftravel through the field. This may include at least one of: manuallyguiding the rover 12 through the field and recording the path for futureuse, a list of sequential GPS or radio location points to follow and adesired time interval between location points and a desired speed oftravel. The cognitive computing platform 40 further employs thenavigation system 54 to estimate the condition of the field in threespatial dimensions based on the travel history of the rover 12 and analtitude of sensor measurements, as will be described.

The program of the cognitive computing platform 40 further estimates thetime variation of the above multidimensional measurements (temperature,humidity, dew point, wind speed, etc.) and provides estimates of futurefield conditions, and further utilizes the physical measurements toestimate state variables of the field including but not limited to plantsaturation, energy content, water loss rate, etc. These and otherfactors may be applied to water dispensing computations calculated bythe cognitive platform 40 (in computer system 16 or 18).

The rover 12 includes a power source 14 that may include a battery,solar cell, wind turbine, internal combustion engine, electric engine,etc. A tower 48 is coupled to the base 50 and extends over the base 50in operational scenarios. The tower 48 may be retractable (extendable)for easy storage or to protect the rover 12 under inclement weatherconditions. The height of the tower 48 may be adjusted to permitmeasurements at different heights for a given set of conditions. Theheight of the tower 48 can be as high (or higher) the trees/plants beingprotected or cared for. A plurality of sensors 22 is set on the tower 48and/or the base 50 and are configured to sense environmental conditionsaround the rover 12 at different elevations. The rover 12 may bemanually controlled and may be part of a known vehicle, such as a truck,tractor, pull cart, etc. The rover 12 may be self-propelled and may beremotely controlled or self-controlled.

In one embodiment, the central computer 16 controls the rover 12 and itsoperations. The central computer 16 includes a processor 15 and memory17. The memory 17 is configured to receive measured data from theplurality of sensors 22 and an imaging device 24 and determine an amountand manner of water to be dispensed on plant life in the field. Therover 12 records local information with a very high spatial granularityand provides feedback to the system (16 and/or 18) to take action on therecorded local information.

In another embodiment, the rover 12 may include the onboard computersystem 18 to control the movement and operations of the rover 12. Thecomputer system 18 includes a processor 19 and memory 21. The computers16 and 18 may share or distribute functions between them. In someembodiments, only the computer 18 is employed and in other embodimentsonly the computer 16 is employed. The functions and capabilities of thecomputers may be interchangeable. The computers 16 and 18 may includeperipherals, displays, interfaces (mouse, keyboard, etc.), etc. toenable human interactions with the systems.

The rover 12 may include a reservoir 20 for carrying water and/or asolution that may prevent water freezing. Alternately, the reservoir 20may be replaced by a supply hose that provides water to thereservoir/rover as needed. In other embodiments, water is supplied by asprinkler system 34, which can be an in-ground sprinkler or drip systemor be an above-ground sprinkler or drip system. The sprinkler system 34is controlled based on the rover 12 or feedback from the rover 12.

The rover 12 preferably includes an autonomous mobile platform, but mayinclude a vehicle mountable platform that can be conveyed on a, e.g., atruck driven by a farmer, etc. The rover 12 is equipped withenvironmental sensors 22 and the imaging device 24. The sensors 22 mayinclude a plurality of different sensor types to measure, for example,temperature, relative humidity, dew point, wind velocity at differentheights above a ground 28 to assess air inversion and local conditionsat the rover 12.

The computer system 18 of the rover 12 includes one or more programs 30that can determine, based on local measurements, when air inversion isappearing or disappearing. The program 30 may employ the temperaturessensed at different heights by the sensors 22 to determine when and ifwater should be dispended from sprinkler systems 32 provided on therover 12 or form sprinklers 34 on or over the ground 28. In otherembodiments, the sprinklers system 32 may be located off the rover 12and may be made responsive to signals generated by the rover 12, e.g.,acoustic signals made by the rover 12, or by the computer 16, 18 usingrover feedback. The program 30 can consider (as feedback) humidity, dewpoint, wind velocity, visual conditions (as determined by the imagingdevice 24), e.g., fog, snow, rain, frost formation, etc.

In one scenario, if the farm is in an area with large topographicalchanges, cold air may accumulate in a depression more than on a top of ahill, and the cold temperature may stay for a longer period in such adepression. The rover 12 will measure these changes and send the data tothe computer system 18 or send the data to the central computer 16. Thecentral computer 16 (or the computer system 18) may control a variablerate irrigation system 34 in the vineyard. The irrigation system 34 inthe vineyard irrigates using micro sprinklers 36. When potential forlocal frost damage occurs, the irrigation system 34 can be turned on toprotect the crops. A time response to the treatment can be monitored bythe imaging device 24 and the information can be part of a feed-backloop with the cognitive computing platform 40 on the central computer 16for optimizing the protection or irrigation process. The cognitivecomputing platform 40 may be stored on one or more of the computingsystems 16 and/or 18.

The cognitive computing platform 40 may provide control of theirrigation system 34, portions of the irrigation system 36, control thespeed of the rover 12 through the vineyard, control the data rate forsensor data collection, adjust the height at which measurements areacquired, run special checks at particular locations (which may bemonitored using the imaging device 24, global positioning data, or otherlocation monitoring system), etc. The cognitive computing platform 40can evaluate the amount of water delivered to an area using the imagingdevice 24 or a probe 44 to test the ground saturation at one or moredepth. The ground probe measures soil water saturation and can measuresoil temperature. The amount of water provided may be based on thesensor measurements, historic data, elevation measurements (e.g., airinversion conditions), etc.

In one embodiment, the system 10 may include a differential irrigationsystem (34) with comprehensive communication links to receive commandsor real time data information from the rover 12 as the rover 12 movesalong pre-programed paths in the vineyard or orchard.

The system 10 may perform the following tasks. The rover 12 measurestemperature, wind speed, dew point, and relative humidity to determinethe needed water to be supplied by the sprinkler system 34. The watermay be supplied in different ways/manners (e.g., over the plants, to theground directly, as snow, as rain, in bursts, steady stream, etc.), atdifferent locations in different amounts in accordance with the measuredinformation by the rover 12. The rover 12 can determine command signalsfor the sprinkler system(s) 32 and/or 34 to provide the appropriateprotection or irrigation, as needed. The settings and commands may bedetermined by the computing system 18 or central computing system 16.The computing system (16 or 18) can store position based criteria fordelivery of water. For example, depending on the time of year, amount ofrecent rainfall, water table height, position in the vineyard,temperature, humidity, dew point, historic data, etc., an amount ofwater, a time of delivery (e.g., during the day or night), deliverytype, duration, etc. is locally provided.

The rover 12 monitors if enough water is supplied such that everythingis saturated, partially saturated, etc. with flowing water. This can beimplemented by the imaging device 24 or by a retractable probe 44 on therover 12 to determine the saturation in the ground 28. The rover 12 canmake periodic inspections to determine when it is time to stop theirrigation, and evaluate the results of the treatment via the imagingdevice 24. The imaging device 24 may view color or other criteria todetermine whether sufficient water has been applied to protect fromfrost or to irrigate the crops. The imaging device 24 may be employedautomatically by the computing system (16 or 18) or may be viewed by auser to determine sufficient watering. In one embodiment, the imagesgenerated by the imaging device 24 may be employed as a feed-back to thecognitive computing platform 40 to evaluate saturation, frost, etc. Thecognitive computing platform 40 can evaluate color, plant state, etc.using recognition software, comparison templates, or other imageprocessing techniques. The rover 12 can receive instructions from thesystem 16 or 18 to move to a new location and to assess whether frostprevention steps are still needed.

All data from the rover 12 may be saved onboard (in the computing system18) and/or delivered to the central computing system 16. Thedifferential irrigation system 34 may be actuated by servers (e.g.,central computing system 16) to disperse the water using sprinklers 36of the variable rate irrigation system 34 that can be turned on/off ondemand based on the local environment as measured by the rover 12.

In one embodiment, the rover 12 acts as a mobile measurement platformthat acquires high resolution environmental parameters as it moves alonga predefined path in an orchard or field. Data is transmitted to thesystem 16 (or system 18) that actuates the variable rate sprinklersystem 34 to saturate soil with water a day or two ahead of the expectedfrost time. This may be based on forecasts of impending cold weather orweather changes sensed locally by the rover 12. The rovers 12 maymonitor heat convection from the moist soil during frost time using aheat sensor 46. The rover 12 can provide feedback to the micro sprinklersystem or systems 32 or to the sprinkler system 34 to water buds andleaves to maintain flowing water across the ice that encapsulates thebuds. Furthermore, the rover 12 can provide images to the cognitivecomputing platform 40 for an optimization feed-back loop to decide howmuch water is needed locally.

The sprinkler systems 32 or 34 can dispense water on a canopy of vinesbased on visual images acquired by the rover 12. The sprinkler systems32 and/or 34 may include a linear water-pressure response with higherpressure resulting in higher water dispensing rates. The sprinklersystems 32 and/or 34 can be actuated such that they produce snow whendirected by the air stratification conditions assessed by the rover 12and advised by the cognitive computing platform 40 in communication withthe rover 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, a sprinkler system 100 is shown in accordance withone embodiment. The sprinkler system 100 includes a plurality of heads106 in a pipe or tube 120. In one embodiment, each head 106 includes anactuation frequency that may be the same or different from the otherheads in the system 100. The heads 106 are actuated by an acousticsignal or signals. In one embodiment, two speakers 102 and 104 are tunedat different frequencies. In one embodiment, some heads (a first group)106 are activated when the speaker 102 creates an acoustic wave at afirst frequency 114. In another embodiment, some heads 106 (a secondgroup, the same or different heads 106 as the first group) may beactivated when the speaker 104 creates an acoustic wave at a secondfrequency 116. In other embodiments, a standing wave 109 produced whenboth speakers 102 and 104 are active may set off a third group ofsprinkler heads 106, which may include one or more of the other heads inother groups.

In one embodiment, as depicted in exploded view 115, the heads 106 mayinclude a spring-loaded valve 112 that acts as a spring mass system andoscillates in accordance with particular frequencies (resonancefrequency). The valve 112 is normally closed, but at the resonancefrequency (or other frequency(s), the mass oscillates to release water.

In another embodiment, depicted in exploded view 117, a microphone 108may receive the frequency for which it is to be activated, and anactuator 110 is activated and opens the spring-loaded valve 112 for thathead 106 so that water can be dispensed at a location of interest. Whenthe frequency ceases, the valve 112 is closed by the actuator 110. Therover 12 may generate the frequencies using a horn or speaker 26(FIG. 1) needed to actuate the heads 106 as well. In this way, localizedsprinkler actuation may be achieved. The actuators 110 and microphones108 in this embodiment may employ a power source, e.g., electrical leadscoupled to an AC or DC source (not shown). Other dispensing methods mayalso be employed to provide area controlled or individually controlledheads 106.

In one embodiment, the shut-off frequency of the heads 106 is differentfrom the turn-on frequency. In this way, data from the rover 12 can beemployed to actuate a dispenser which feeds the system 100 and rovermeasurements close to the sprinkler location can determine the length ofirrigation. The rover 12 can provide a turn-off frequency to shut downthe heads 106 of the system 100 when enough water has been dispensed.Determining the time when to start the sprinklers and when to shut themoff is based on local measurements within the vineyard. For example, thedetermination of the amount of water is decided based on images,environmental conditions, measurements, etc. from the rover 12, e.g.,controlling the rate of water dispensing such that water covers all budsin an image, etc.

In one embodiment, the rover 12 moves along fruit tree lines andmeasures temperature, relative humidity, etc. while imaging buds andwater flow across them. The measurements may be taken at the base level,intermediary level and tree top level of the trees. Different settingsfor the irrigation system may be employed based on the elevation. Forexample, water may be needed at the tops of the trees but not at thebottom in frost conditions. The irrigation system can be used forirrigation or used to prevent frost damage. The system 10 (computingsystem 18 or 16) controls the sprinkle nozzles to minimize frost damage.Each sprinkler/nozzle may have its own resonance frequency (or othercontrol) and at ends of the pipe 120, two speakers 102, 104 can generatean acoustic wave in the pipe 108. Two standing waves 114 and 116 can becreated at different frequencies that can be superposed to form a thirdwave 109 such that each sprinkler/dripper can be excited at its ownfrequency and at its location by adjusting frequency and/or amplitude ofeach generated wave. Additional frequencies may also be generated toactuate a larger number of sprinklers of sprinkler groups.

Systems 16 or 18 can receive input from the rover 12 about which spatialarea needs to be irrigated more or less, and the central server 16 canactuate irrigation in a well-defined segment of the irrigation line.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for dispensing water for crops is shown inaccordance with illustrative embodiments. In block 202, a field istraversed by a self-propelled rover. The rover includes a tower coupledto a base and extends over the base. A plurality of sensors is set onthe tower and the base to sense environmental conditions around therover at different elevations and at different locations in the field.The rover collects hyper-local information in the field to ensure thatthe plants/vines are protected from frost and/or properly waters,depending on the season and conditions.

The rover can be relocated to the different locations in the field inaccordance with computer control (navigation system, etc.) to map theenvironmental conditions for the different elevations and at thedifferent locations in the field. The rover may also be equipped with apreprogrammed route that is followed through the field.

In block 204, the environmental conditions are measured using theplurality of sensors on the rover at the different elevations and at thedifferent locations in the field. These measurements can includehumidity, temperature, sun angle, dew point, solar radiation strength,wind velocity and direction, etc.

In block 206, local measurement data is evaluated to determine an amountand manner for disbursement of water under the environmental conditionsfor the different elevations and at the different locations in thefield. The amount may be determined based upon current frost conditions,e.g., too much water will weigh down branches, etc., but a sufficientamount is needed to balance trapping energy versus loss due toevaporation. The icing of plant life versus bowing under the weight ofice can be visually evaluated by the cognitive computing platform usingvisual feedback from the imaging device(s).

In one embodiment, evaluation of the local measurement data includesemploying the cognitive computing platform to determine a water deliveryrate and a disbursement type to protect plant life from frost damage orirrigate the plant life. For example, a type determined may be made touse overhead sprinklers to generate snow rather than applying liquidwater to the plants or misting versing sprinkling, etc. Anothermanner/type may include the rate and amount at which the water indelivered. This may be determined by the cognitive computing platformbased on many present conditions/other data as well and past orforecasted conditions. Other data may include one or more of historicweather data, seasonal data, forecasted weather, etc. The water may bedispensed in one single time block if the temperature is close to thefreezing point or it can be a dispensed in small bursts to assure nofreezing occurs.

In block 208, the water is delivered until goal conditions are met. Goalconditions may include an amount of saturation, an ice coating thatdoesn't stress the branches of plants, etc. The water delivery mayinclude activating a sprinkler system locally and monitoring the wateron the plant life using at least one of an imaging system and/or aground probe. The delivering of the water may include using individuallycontrolled sprinkler sections or individually controlled heads. In oneembodiment, the heads are acoustically activated sprinkler headsdisposed locally throughout the field.

This process may be iterated to maintain conditions in a field or tofurther monitor the conditions for changes. The rover may also beemployed for other purposes. For example, scaring off animals that mightdamage the crops, etc.

Having described preferred embodiments autonomous mobile platform andvariable rate irrigation method for preventing frost damage (which areintended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted thatmodifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the artin light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood thatchanges may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which arewithin the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims.

Having thus described aspects of the invention, with the details andparticularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desiredprotected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:
 1. Arover, comprising: a base having wheels; a propulsion system coupled tothe wheels to propel the rover around a field; a tower coupled to thebase and extending over the base; a plurality of sensors set on thetower and the base and configured to sense environmental conditionsaround the rover at different elevations; and a computing systemincluding a processor and memory, the memory including computer programcode that causes the processor to receive measured data from theplurality of sensors, to predict a future weather condition, todetermine an amount and manner of water to be dispensed on plant life inthe field to protect the plant life from the future weather condition,and to control a separate, stationary sprinkler system that includes aplurality of individually controllable heads that are controlled todeliver the water to be dispensed in accordance with the measured dataand predicted local conditions.
 2. The rover as recited in claim 1,wherein the plurality of sensors measure one or more of temperature,humidity and wind velocity at the different elevations.
 3. The rover asrecited in claim 1, wherein the rover includes a sprinkler systemonboard to deliver the water to be dispensed.
 4. The rover as recited inclaim 1, wherein the rover communicates with a central computer systemwhich controls a separate sprinkler system to deliver the water to bedispensed in accordance with the measured data.
 5. The rover as recitedin claim 1, further comprising an imaging device mounted on the rover toevaluate water delivery amounts for the plant life in the field usingvisual feedback.
 6. The rover as recited in claim 1, wherein thepropulsion system moves the rover through the field to evaluate aplurality of different locations in the field in accordance with theenvironmental conditions.
 7. The rover as recited in claim 1, whereinthe computing system is further configured to identify an air inversioncondition from the received measured data.
 8. The rover as recited inclaim 7, wherein the computing system is further configured to determinethe amount of water to be dispensed based on the identified airinversion condition.
 9. The rover as recited in claim 1, wherein therover uses acoustic signals to control the stationary sprinkler system,with a separate frequency being used to control each respective head ofthe plurality of individually controllable heads.